Written Answers Thursday 16 March 2006

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many organic farmers have not had their applications for the Organic Aid Scheme renewed in 2005 and what the main reasons were for non-renewal.

Rhona Brankin: There is no provision for "renewal" of Organic Aid Scheme applications. Farmers and crofters may apply for five-year agreements under the scheme, at the end of which they are eligible to apply for a further, organic maintenance agreement. All applications are considered on their merits, along with other applications received by the deadline. In the 2005 round, 105 farmers applied for grant aid under the Organic Aid Scheme and 102 applications were approved under the established system of ranking applications against a number of criteria. The three applications which were not approved fell well below the agreed ranking score and were therefore considered not to represent good value for money.

Agriculture

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive why the renewal date for applications for Organic Maintenance Payments in 2005 was set at 31 March and what information regarding this closing date it provided to those farmers whose renewal dates were later than 31 March 2005.

Rhona Brankin: There is no "renewal date" for Organic Maintenance payments. The Organic Aid Scheme offers farmers five-year agreements to convert to or maintain organic production. It is a discretionary scheme under which all applications are considered together on their merits. The annual closing date for applications was set at 31 March following a review of the scheme in 2002-03 undertaken in consultation with stakeholders. The date is publicised in the scheme guidelines, on the Scottish Executive website, via the farming press, through the organic advisory service provided on our behalf by the Scottish Agricultural College and by the organic certification bodies.

Aquaculture and Fisheries Bill

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will postpone the introduction of any legislative measure which provides for a regulator for the salmon farming industry in order to allow a reasonable period in which to assess the effect and effectiveness of the code of practice, which has been published and which the industry will introduce on a voluntary basis.

Rhona Brankin: There are no plans to postpone the introduction of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Bill.

Aquaculture and Fisheries Bill

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the cost of the proposed regulator for the aquaculture sector.

Rhona Brankin: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-23420 on 3 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Bridges

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any assessment of the annual cost to the Scottish economy caused by traffic delays as a result of the collection of tolls on the (a) Forth Road Bridge and (b) Tay Road Bridge.

Tavish Scott: No.

Bridges

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the employment costs of the collection of tolls on the (a) Forth Road Bridge and (b) Tay Road Bridge were in each year since 1999.

Tavish Scott: These are matters for the Forth Estuary Transport Authority and the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board respectively, as they own and operate these bridges.

Bridges

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the capital costs of constructing the Forth Road Bridge were recouped by the revenue from tolls on the bridge.

Tavish Scott: Tolling income at the Forth Road Bridge repaid construction costs in 1993.

Bridges

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects that the capital costs of constructing the Tay Road Bridge will be recouped by the revenue from tolls on the bridge.

Tavish Scott: This is a matter for the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board which owns and operates the bridge.

Bridges

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the volume of traffic is per day on the (a) Erskine Bridge, (b) Skye Bridge, (c) Forth Road Bridge and (d) Tay Road Bridge and what the equivalent figures were (i) 10 and (ii) 20 years ago.

Tavish Scott: Information on traffic flows and traffic growth on the Bridges, including daily trends and variations, is shown at section 4 of the Tolled Bridges Review: Phase One Report , published by the Scottish Executive, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 34847).

  Annual vehicle crossing figures (thousands) at each of the tolled bridges is as follows:

  

 Bridge
 1984
 1994
 2004


 Erskine
 4,327
 6,865
 10,020


 Forth
 12,001
 18,994
 23,562


 Tay
 5,211
 7,198
 8,929


 Skye
 n/a
 n/a
 769



  Source: Scottish Transport Statistics No.14 - 1995 Edition and Scottish Transport Statistics No.24 - 2005 Edition

  Note: The Skye Bridge crossing opened in October 1995. Vehicle crossings in the first full year of operation (1996) totalled 612,000.

Carers

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19268 by Robert Brown on 29 September 2005, when the review of services and outcomes for children and young people looked after by local authorities in Scotland, which was expected to be published in November 2005, will be published.

Robert Brown: Professor Aldgate’s study will be published as one of the supporting reports for the review of services and outcomes for looked after children being undertaken by the Social Work Inspection Agency. The review is in process for publication in May.

Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what sources of funding might be available to assist with the development of local services for people with hearing impairment.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive allocates funding under Grant Aided Expenditure to allow local authorities to provide services to meet the needs of people with sensory impairment in their area, for ensuring that information is widely available and easily accessible, and for deciding how these resources should be distributed to best meet local needs and priorities. Through the Sensory Impairment Action Plan (SIAP) we are working with Royal National Institute for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People, Deafblind Scotland, Sense Scotland and other voluntary organisations and users to improve services for all sensory impaired people in Scotland. The Scottish Executive provides support through grant funding to The Scottish Council on Deafness, Deafblind Scotland and other national voluntary organisations working with sensory impaired people under Sections 9 and 10(1) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 and Section 16B of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 as amended.

Domestic Abuse

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has allocated to zero tolerance campaigns and support services for women experiencing violence.

Johann Lamont: The Scottish Executive in recent years has committed significant resources to domestic abuse and the wider violence against women agenda. Specific funding from the communities portfolio from 2000 until 2006 totalled over £34.5 million and further funding from other portfolios has also contributed to the progress of this agenda.

  In the coming two years we will be providing a further £6 million to support a range of projects under the Violence Against Women Fund; £6 million for support services for children affected by domestic abuse, and £1.5 million for local rape crisis centres.

  In addition, we will continue to fund Scottish Women’s Aid, Rape Crisis Scotland and the Scottish Domestic Abuse Helpline, and to support the pilot domestic abuse court and the new pilot Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Glasgow.

  We have spent almost £2.5 million on the Executive’s "No Excuse" awareness raising campaign, since 1999, and are pleased that the evaluation of this work has shown an improvement in the public’s perceptions and attitudes towards domestic abuse. We continue to be committed to producing high profile and effective domestic abuse campaigns.

Education

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10320 by Peter Peacock on 17 September 2004, whether any agencies hold the information on literacy in Scotland and, if so, which agencies.

Peter Peacock: The information requested is not held by any government agencies.

Fisheries

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many regulating orders in respect of fishing were in place at 31 December 2005; what organisations were in possession of such orders, and what record of enforcement action taken under the orders is available for publication.

Ross Finnie: One Regulating Order was in place as at 31 December 2005, the grantee being the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation. The Scottish Executive holds no record of enforcement action taken under this Order.

Fisheries

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive on what date the consultation paper on proposed legislation to give powers to enforce regulating powers in respect of fishing was launched and when the consultation period ended.

Ross Finnie: The consultation exercise on proposed legislation to provide improved powers for the enforcement of Regulating Orders began on 18 January 2006 and ended on 15 February 2006. Subsequently, those organisations which indicated to the Executive that they would have found it difficult to respond within the consultation period were given a further two weeks (until 1 March) to submit their responses.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Fisheries Research Services (FRS) will be responsible for delivering the services of the regulator for the aquaculture sector and, if so, what the extra costs to FRS will be of so doing.

Rhona Brankin: I refer the member to the answers to questions S2W-23422 on the role of the regulator and S2W-23420 on the costs of regulation on 3 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will, prior to introducing any legislation which provides that there will be a regulator for the salmon farming sector, meet MSPs with a constituency interest in order to discuss the impact which the measure may have upon the industry and, in particular, on employment in the most rural peripheral and island communities.

Rhona Brankin: I or my officials would be happy to meet MSPs with a constituency interest to discuss the contents of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Bill once it has been introduced to Parliament in the summer.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what previous experience Fisheries Research Services (FRS) has in relation to salmon farming and what expertise there is within FRS regarding the sector.

Rhona Brankin: Fisheries Research Services’ (FRS) previous experience in salmon farming principally resides with staff of the Fish Health Inspectorate who visit salmon farms on a regular basis in the course of implementing the statutory fish health regime. Extensive experience has been acquired in the field and laboratory since the early days of the industry in Scotland.

  Salmon farming expertise at FRS covers a wide range of disciplines including fish cultivation, fish biology, fish pathology, veterinary epidemiology and environmental management.

Forestry

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in the promotion of forest schools.

Robert Brown: Forest School is cited as one of the delivery mechanisms in Woods for Learning, Forestry Commission Scotland’s Education Strategy launched in January. Forest School has been running in Scotland since 2003; five training courses have been run and 20 forest schools have been set up by course participants to help complete the training and gain experience. Forestry Commission Scotland have just received a report reviewing progress. The report is published on:

  www.forestry.gov.uk/woodsforlearning.

  Forestry Commission Scotland is developing a partnership with the education sector to ensure that Forest School targets the Curriculum for Excellence, and further training courses are planned for 2006-07.

Foster Care

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address the position whereby grandparents who look after their grandchildren receive either no financial help or significantly less than other foster carers.

Robert Brown: We are considering this issue in the context of the draft Adoption Bill.

  We are also awaiting publication of research on kinship care in Scotland, commissioned by the Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA) as part of their wider review on looked after children. SWIA hope to publish this shortly and we will consider any issues raised in the review.

Health

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all medical personnel providing care to NHS patients will be required to register interests in pharmaceuticals.

Lewis Macdonald: All NHS staff require to comply with the standards of business conduct for NHS staff and should declare any interest which may conflict with their NHS employment. The Scottish Executive Health Department published guidance in 2003, A common understanding on joint working between NHS Scotland and the Pharmaceutical Industry . This guidance advises employers and independent contractors to review and monitor local standing orders, registers of joint working arrangements, and that all employees and independent contractors must record any financial interests.

Housing

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will amend the terms of Scottish Planning Policy SPP3: Planning for Housing to make it clear that residential gardens do not fall within the definition of brownfield land.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are no immediate plans to review SPP3: Planning for Housing. SPP3 gives a definition of brownfield land, which neither includes nor excludes residential gardens specifically. The main criterion for brownfield land is "land that has been previously developed". Not all sites can therefore be categorised easily as either brownfield or greenfield. Any residential garden which is proposed for development would need to be considered on its merits.

Housing

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage the redevelopment of urban brownfield sites, in particular through the creation of affordable housing.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has a range of policies and programmes in place to encourage the redevelopment of urban brownfield sites for affordable housing and other uses.

  National planning policy generally encourages the reuse of previously developed land in preference to greenfield development. More specifically, Scottish Planning Policy on Planning for Housing (SPP3) states that where brownfield land is available, planning authorities should normally direct new housing to such land in preference to greenfield sites. SPP3 and Planning Advice Note 74 also enable planning authorities to seek a proportion of affordable housing within most housing developments, where there is evidence of a shortage of affordable housing.

  As far as the Executive’s own housing investment is concerned, over the three years 2002-05 an average of 79% of new build development supported by Communities Scotland has been on brownfield land. The Executive is also providing funding specifically to encourage the redevelopment of brownfield sites. £20 million is being made available to local authorities over the period 2005-08 to help them tackle contaminated land issues. The Executive has also allocated £24 million for 2006-08 through the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund for the remediation of land in Glasgow, Dundee, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire – areas with the most significant levels of deprivation and vacant and derelict land.

  In addition to the above, our February 2006 Regeneration Policy Statement, People and Place, outlines our commitment to take a range of actions to tackle land issues which can sometimes inhibit regeneration.

Housing

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average house price was in each local authority area in each year since 1995.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table shows median house prices in each local authority area in each year since 1995 to 2004, the latest year for which this information is available. Information on median and mean house prices for different geographical areas is available from the Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics System on the Scottish Executive Website at http://www.sns.gov.uk .

  Median House Prices 1995-2004 by Local Authority Area

  

 Local Authority
 1995
 1996
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004


 Aberdeen City
 45,000
 49,000
 50,000
 53,500
 53,500
 55,000
 56,250
 58,417
 60,000
 70,000


 Aberdeenshire
 52,720
 54,375
 55,000
 59,500
 60,000
 60,000
 60,000
 65,995
 75,000
 86,617


 Angus
 40,000
 42,500
 41,000
 43,000
 46,875
 47,000
 50,000
 52,000
 60,000
 68,000


 Argyll and Bute
 40,000
 43,000
 45,500
 60,000
 46,000
 52,000
 46,500
 51,198
 55,100
 70,000


 Clackmannanshire
 37,000
 37,000
 38,000
 41,950
 40,000
 41,000
 44,625
 43,000
 47,000
 64,750


 Dumfries and Galloway
 38,000
 39,000
 40,250
 40,500
 44,500
 43,975
 47,000
 48,950
 57,000
 77,950


 Dundee City
 35,000
 36,572
 35,000
 37,450
 40,550
 38,500
 42,000
 45,000
 50,000
 55,750


 East Ayrshire
 30,000
 31,500
 31,000
 33,500
 36,000
 35,000
 37,500
 37,088
 41,000
 54,500


 East Dunbartonshire
 60,000
 60,000
 62,800
 62,750
 64,500
 69,000
 71,000
 80,000
 91,127
 118,500


 East Lothian
 50,000
 52,000
 53,600
 56,000
 57,500
 60,000
 65,500
 74,000
 90,181
 110,000


 East Renfrewshire
 60,000
 67,000
 64,995
 70,676
 70,503
 69,000
 79,000
 88,850
 98,000
 126,025


 Edinburgh, City of
 52,500
 55,200
 59,000
 63,473
 70,000
 73,000
 80,000
 96,787
 115,000
 135,000


 Eilean Siar
 DNA
 27,050
 29,250
 25,000
 30,000
 35,000
 37,000
 38,000
 39,650
 51,075


 Falkirk
 38,000
 39,995
 38,000
 41,000
 42,950
 40,000
 43,000
 45,000
 52,000
 67,100


 Fife
 35,000
 38,000
 45,000
 40,000
 42,000
 44,000
 45,000
 48,000
 56,000
 69,000


 Glasgow City
 38,250
 40,000
 40,000
 41,000
 43,000
 44,000
 49,000
 56,000
 69,625
 85,500


 Highland
 39,000
 41,000
 40,998
 42,995
 45,000
 45,000
 50,000
 56,000
 65,000
 83,250


 Inverclyde
 33,000
 36,600
 32,500
 35,000
 38,000
 40,000
 41,000
 44,750
 47,000
 60,000


 Midlothian
 47,000
 46,050
 48,000
 49,725
 53,000
 55,000
 59,995
 65,125
 80,000
 92,875


 Moray
 41,500
 43,750
 42,500
 47,500
 47,000
 45,500
 47,000
 49,500
 60,000
 70,000


 North Ayrshire
 31,000
 32,500
 34,581
 36,000
 37,500
 36,000
 37,850
 40,000
 44,000
 57,500


 North Lanarkshire
 34,000
 35,500
 35,500
 36,000
 38,100
 37,000
 40,000
 42,236
 45,000
 58,500


 Orkney Islands
 35,325
 35,000
 38,000
 37,000
 38,350
 41,000
 41,750
 44,000
 48,000
 60,000


 Perth and Kinross
 47,400
 50,000
 51,000
 54,050
 58,000
 60,000
 60,000
 65,000
 75,000
 90,000


 Renfrewshire
 38,500
 41,000
 40,000
 43,000
 43,000
 45,500
 42,500
 45,000
 53,011
 65,000


 Scottish Borders
 35,000
 37,000
 37,000
 38,250
 43,500
 41,000
 46,000
 52,000
 65,000
 82,850


 Shetland Islands
 34,750
 42,750
 35,338
 38,500
 32,000
 35,000
 40,000
 45,017
 46,000
 60,000


 South Ayrshire
 43,348
 46,000
 46,000
 46,250
 51,000
 50,420
 52,000
 56,300
 65,000
 76,000


 South Lanarkshire
 35,500
 40,500
 37,500
 40,000
 43,000
 43,500
 46,000
 49,000
 57,000
 71,000


 Stirling
 52,750
 49,995
 53,500
 56,000
 59,500
 60,000
 60,000
 72,000
 83,000
 96,000


 West Dunbartonshire
 37,995
 38,973
 38,000
 37,000
 38,000
 39,000
 41,000
 43,000
 45,000
 60,000


 West Lothian
 36,000
 39,500
 41,950
 44,950
 46,500
 48,000
 52,995
 55,018
 66,000
 85,000



  DNA: Data not available

  Residential property transactions are recorded by Registers of Scotland. For more information, see http://www.ros.gov.uk/pdfs/rsdguidancenotes.pdf. This analysis includes additional coding by the Land Valuation Information Unit at the University of Paisley and Communities Scotland.

Housing

Paul Martin (Glasgow Springburn) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact of meeting the Scottish Housing Quality Standard will be on the health of those living in homes that meet the standard.

Malcolm Chisholm: The GoWell health study, which was launched in Glasgow last month and is the first of its kind in Europe, will investigate the impact of the planned £1 billion investment in Glasgow’s homes and communities on the health and well-being of individuals and families located in some of Glasgow’s most deprived communities. This study is expected to make a significant contribution to our understanding of these complex areas.

  In addition to this, the Scottish Housing, Health and Regeneration Project (SHARP) aims to measure the health and well-being impacts on individuals of moving into new social housing. It commenced in 2001 and is due to complete in spring-summer 2007.

Housing

Paul Martin (Glasgow Springburn) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to ensure that Glasgow Housing Association successfully completes its second stage stock transfer.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is working closely with GHA to resolve the complex issues which have emerged and is doing all that it can to support them to achieve delivery of Second Stage Transfer (SST).

  Scottish ministers have already made a substantial financial commitment to the transfer which promised tenants major investment in their homes as well as local control. That investment is now being delivered and promises made to tenants are being met.

  A Ministerial Progress Group chaired by the Deputy Minister for Communities has been established to provide support to all of the parties involved in SST. The group comprises Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Housing Association, as well as tenants and staff working in the Local Housing Organisations. Communities Scotland is developing guidance which should help to clarify the process and nature of SST. This will be issued in the near future.

Housing

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new houses for social rent have been built in each year since 1980, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table below contains counts of new build completions in the social rented sector for 1992 to 2004, broken down by local authority area. Data prior to 1992 is not available by current local authority area.

  New Dwellings Completed in the Social Sector by Local Authority Area; 1992 to 2004

  

 Local Authority Area
 1992
 1993
 1994
 1995
 1996
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004


 Scotland
 3,194
 3,510
 3,450
 6,011
 2,858
 4,684
 2,050
 4,992
 4,989
 5,574
 5,171
 3,992
 3,483


 Aberdeen City
 269
 178
 42
 452
 157
 327
 21
 115
 98
 203
 79
 169
 98


 Aberdeenshire
 185
 181
 156
 209
 152
 291
 43
 226
 116
 176
 199
 211
 169


 Angus 
 86
 35
 110
 169
 110
 179
 159
 119
 110
 67
 167
 43
 100


 Argyll and Bute
 75
 73
 51
 31
 3
 91
 199
 112
 121
 105
 4
 59
 72


 Clackmannanshire
 143
 66
 241
 21
 32
 0
 18
 39
 59
 0
 72
 28
 50


 Dumfries and Galloway
 101
 107
 32
 167
 34
 202
 14
 179
 69
 197
 77
 96
 109


 Dundee
 236
 303
 318
 179
 185
 306
 70
 242
 231
 106
 302
 72
 353


 East Ayrshire
 26
 46
 98
 116
 32
 28
 60
 32
 20
 147
 4
 98
 6


 East Dunbartonshire
 0
 17
 0
 47
 0
 0
 22
 15
 24
 55
 10
 4
 7


 East Lothian 
 26
 52
 23
 93
 16
 22
 19
 61
 79
 9
 18
 14
 16


 East Renfrewshire
 0
 0
 0
 0
 27
 17
 0
 84
 126
 41
 0
 30
 15


 Edinburgh
 227
 168
 249
 830
 104
 351
 132
 576
 521
 545
 511
 156
 228


 Eilean Siar
 17
 4
 14
 22
 7
 4
 8
 2
 13
 14
 22
 13
 19


 Falkirk 
 43
 64
 45
 65
 34
 62
 28
 78
 103
 97
 86
 34
 1


 Fife
 320
 581
 395
 608
 203
 407
 124
 421
 174
 186
 336
 194
 124


 Glasgow
 189
 112
 191
 482
 434
 785
 377
 834
 1,159
 1,841
 1,244
 1,496
 886


 Highland
 126
 259
 314
 112
 196
 203
 101
 143
 225
 149
 157
 147
 159


 Inverclyde 
 38
 23
 69
 87
 112
 0
 117
 93
 248
 119
 141
 101
 103


 Midlothian 
 20
 68
 19
 27
 42
 74
 12
 47
 0
 28
 17
 31
 14


 Moray 
 84
 61
 4
 87
 84
 101
 17
 30
 30
 56
 33
 2
 8


 North Ayrshire
 108
 116
 77
 405
 53
 25
 26
 149
 67
 76
 64
 83
 25


 North Lanarkshire
 93
 187
 200
 362
 160
 261
 80
 334
 277
 266
 360
 131
 114


 Orkney 
 65
 63
 38
 37
 53
 12
 0
 14
 29
 52
 44
 24
 34


 Perth and Kinross 
 159
 69
 188
 139
 98
 267
 119
 182
 193
 100
 215
 176
 122


 Renfrewshire 
 130
 88
 114
 83
 273
 94
 0
 92
 167
 152
 155
 48
 182


 Scottish Borders
 23
 54
 48
 293
 8
 20
 123
 83
 101
 88
 85
 44
 76


 Shetland 
 5
 0
 0
 14
 0
 0
 0
 56
 14
 22
 14
 1
 6


 South Ayrshire
 33
 0
 135
 138
 95
 28
 93
 68
 61
 64
 131
 74
 70


 South Lanarkshire
 132
 258
 149
 375
 65
 206
 24
 61
 274
 126
 316
 103
 196


 Stirling 
 58
 96
 26
 78
 28
 56
 0
 85
 83
 62
 106
 84
 27


 West Dunbartonshire 
 120
 94
 81
 84
 45
 0
 0
 213
 92
 263
 182
 136
 19


 West Lothian 
 57
 87
 23
 199
 16
 265
 44
 207
 105
 162
 20
 90
 75



  Source: Scottish Executive Development Department: Housing Statistics NB1 return and Communities Scotland.

Housing

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives to any local authority wishing to construct new homes for social rent which the local authority will directly manage.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive provides funding for new affordable house building by Registered Social Landlords. This is done through the Affordable Housing Investment Programme, which is administered by Communities Scotland. Local authorities are able to use prudential borrowing or receipts from the sale of local authority houses-land.

Housing

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how the proportion of households living in socially rented housing compares with (a) the rest of the United Kingdom, (b) the member states of the European Union and (c) OECD nations.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following tables show the available information on tenure of the housing stock across the UK and EU countries. Information on tenure in other OECD nations is not held centrally.

  Estimated Stock of Dwellings by Tenure: 2004

  

 
 Total Dwellings (000)
 Owner Occupied
 Rented Privately or with a Job/Business
 Rented from RSLs
 Rented from LA


 Number
 %
 Number
 %
 Number
 %
 Number
 %


 Scotland
 2,389
 1,583
 66.3
 178
 7.5
 250
 10.5
 378
 15.8


 England
 21,613
 15,279
 70.7
 2,334
 10.8
 1,665
 7.7
 2,335
 10.8


 Wales
 1,296
 955
 73.7
 115
 8.9
 64
 4.9
 162
 12.5


 Northern Ireland
 679
 523
 77.0
 37
 5.4
 22
 3.2
 97
 14.3


 UK
 25,953
 18,306
 70.5
 2,663
 10.3
 2,001
 7.7
 2,983
 11.5



  Sources: Scottish Executive Development Department: Housing Statistics, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

  Note: Figures are provisional.

  Owner Occupied Stock as a Percentage of all Dwelling Stock, by EU Member State, 2002

  

 EU Member State
Total Stock (000)
 Owner Occupied as % of Total


 Austria
 3,7184
 573


 Belgium
 4,2491
 68 


 Denmark
 2,523 
 51 


 Finland
 2,544 
 64 


 France
 29,495 
 56 


 Germany - not DDR
 30,9861
 45 


 - ex DDR
 7,6961
 34 


 Greece
 5,4541
 741


 Ireland
 1,337 
 785


 Italy
 26,526 
 682


 Luxembourg
 176 
 67 


 Netherlands
 6,711 
 54 


 Portugal
 5,152 
 751


 Scotland
 2,344 
 64 


 Spain
 20,8231
 811


 Sweden
 4,3081
 46 


 United Kingdom
 25,617 
 70 



  Sources: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

  Note:

  1. 2001.

  2. 1991.

  3. 1998.

  4. 1999.

  5. 2000.

Housing

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households there have been on waiting lists to secure a council house in each year since 1995, broken down by local authority.

Malcolm Chisholm: Figures on households of housing waiting lists are accessible online through the data library in the publications and data section of the Scottish Executive housing statistics branch website at www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/housing/hsbref .

  This data collection began in 2001 and figures are not centrally available prior to that date.

  Published figures as at 31 March 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 can be accessed through HSG/2001/4, HSG/2002/3, HSG/2003/4, HSG/2004/4, and HSG/2005/4 respectively.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all cases where it has been accepted by the Crown Office that a miscarriage of justice has taken place since 1965; what payments have been awarded in each such case; how much was claimed in each case, and in how many of these cases the amount demanded by the pursuer of the claim has been met in full.

Cathy Jamieson: Section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides that the Scottish ministers shall pay compensation in cases where a conviction is reversed on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that there has been a miscarriage of justice. In addition, ministers may be prepared to make an ex gratia payment of compensation following a wrongful conviction or charge where this has resulted from serious default on the part of a member of a police force or some other public authority. There may also be exceptional circumstances that justify compensation in cases outside these categories.

  In all cases, claims for compensation are considered by the Scottish ministers following receipt of applications from individuals. If an application is accepted as a valid claim, the amount of compensation paid is determined by an independent assessor. The assessment is based on a Memorandum prepared by the Justice Department, compiling information submitted by the applicant, other relevant papers and taking account of comments from the applicant. In considering claims, the assessor applies principles analogous to those on which claims for damages arising from civil wrongs are assessed. The assessor also has the power to recommend interim payments to applicants where they provide evidence of immediate need.

  Under the statutory scheme the Scottish ministers have no power to vary the determination. In ex gratia claims the assessor's role is strictly to advise ministers of the amount to be paid, but ministers have agreed previously to be bound by the assessor's recommendation.

  Information on claims for compensation prior to 1999 when Scottish ministers assumed responsibility for the operation of the compensation schemes is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The following table shows the number of applications at each stage in the process since 1999.

  

 Number of Applications
 18


 Eligibility Determined
 7


 Application rejected
 1


 Cases Completed
 2


 Assessor Determining Final Payment
 4


 Interim Payments Made
 3


 Decision Pending on Validity
 11


 of which pending legal opinion
 7



  It is Executive policy not to disclose the amount of compensation paid to individual applicants without the express permission of the applicant. Since 1999 the Executive has paid £1,456,067 in compensation to successful applicants.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the total costs which it and each of its agencies have incurred in the Shirley McKie case for each year since 1997.

Cathy Jamieson: I refer to the answer to question S2W-23439 on 7 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current (a) Minister for Justice, (b) Minister for Transport and Telecommunications or (c) Lord Advocate has ever visited the (i) International Court of Justice or (ii) International Criminal Court in The Hague or intends to do so in future.

Colin Boyd QC: Neither the Minister for Justice, the Minister for Transport and Telecommunications nor I have visited the International Court of Justice nor the International Criminal Court in the Hague. None of us have any immediate plans to do so. As Lord Advocate I have made two visits to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague.

Justices of the Peace

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will confirm that it does not keep central records in respect of Justice of the Peace appointments and, if so, how it records the number of Secretary of State-appointed Justices of the Peace.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive does keep central records in respect of Justice of the Peace appointments.

  The information is recorded on a database which is held by the Secretary of Commissions for Scotland in the Justice Department. This database records personal details such as date of birth and address as well as information relating to the type of Justice of the Peace and when and how they were appointed.

Justices of the Peace

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Secretary of State-appointed Justices of the Peace there are, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive does not hold records on how many Secretary of State-appointed Justices of the Peace there are, broken down by parliamentary constituency. The Executive does hold records on how many Secretary of State-appointed Justices of the Peace there are by local authority. These are in the following table:

  Justices of the Peace in Scotland

  

 Commission Area
 Secretary of State Appointed Justices
 Appointed by Ministers


 Full 1,399
 
 Signing 1,372
 
 Full 27
 
 Signing 2
 


 F
 M
 Total
 F
 M
 Total
 F
 M
 Total
 F
 M
 Total


 Aberdeen City
 23
 21
 44
 13
 29
 42
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Aberdeenshire
 28
 74
 102
 12
 57
 69
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Angus
 10
 13
 23
 3
 25
 28
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Argyll and Bute
 16
 41
 57
 5
 38
 43
 1
 4
 5
 2
 0
 2


 City of Edinburgh
 23
 60
 83
 20
 40
 60
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 City of Glasgow
 16
 45
 61
 17
 47
 64
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Clackmannanshire
 7
 13
 20
 3
 6
 9
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Dumfries and Galloway
 20
 42
 62
 10
 43
 53
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Dundee City
 5
 15
 20
 9
 19
 28
 3
 3
 6
 0
 0
 0


 East Ayrshire
 8
 17
 25
 12
 21
 33
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 East Dunbartonshire
 9
 15
 24
 6
 22
 28
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 East Lothian
 39
 31
 70
 10
 27
 37
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 East Renfrewshire
 3
 5
 8
 6
 20
 26
 0
 3
 3
 0
 0
 0


 Falkirk
 11
 18
 29
 6
 16
 22
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Fife
 25
 40
 65
 55
 93
 148
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Highland
 53
 96
 149
 27
 102
 129
 4
 5
 9
 0
 0
 0


 Inverclyde
 6
 12
 18
 14
 17
 31
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Midlothian
 5
 9
 14
 10
 17
 27
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Moray
 22
 33
 55
 5
 32
 37
 0
 2
 2
 0
 0
 0


 North Ayrshire
 13
 21
 34
 15
 18
 33
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 North Lanarkshire
 22
 44
 66
 9
 46
 55
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Orkney
 12
 31
 43
 6
 15
 21
 0
 2
 2
 0
 0
 0


 Perth and Kinross
 24
 43
 67
 6
 42
 48
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Renfrewshire
 5
 12
 17
 13
 28
 41
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Scottish Borders
 14
 24
 38
 11
 39
 50
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Shetland
 15
 18
 33
 5
 13
 18
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 South Ayrshire
 12
 16
 28
 9
 16
 25
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 South Lanarkshire
 18
 30
 48
 11
 48
 59
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Stirling
 14
 18
 32
 9
 12
 21
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 West Dunbartonshire
 9
 17
 26
 6
 13
 19
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 West Lothian
 15
 18
 33
 1
 18
 19
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Western Isles
 0
 5
 5
 17
 32
 49
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Total
 502
 897
 1,399
 361
 1011
 1,372
 8
 19
 27
 2
 0
 2

Mental Health

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure the efficient operation of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland.

Lewis Macdonald: The Health Department sponsors and funds the Tribunal. The Department works with the Mental Health Tribunal Administration (an Executive Agency) to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of tribunals.

  The Tribunal will produce its first annual report (covering the initial six months of operation) in June 2006 and has already produced a statistical report of its first quarter which will be published on its website. The information from the first six months of operation will be used to identify key performance targets against which the quality and efficiency of the Tribunal Service will be measured. These will include response times, number of hearings required to determine cases and the cost per hearing. Based on these measures, targets will be set for 2006-07 and performance against these regularly reported to ministers.

  Additionally, the tribunal will work with the Health Department in its commissioned study into the operation of the tribunal, the tasks which different professional groups complete as part of the process and the time contributions made. The study will report in autumn 2006.

Minimum Wage

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take against any Scottish local authority found to be ignoring legal requirements to pay the statutory minimum wage.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive does not have any powers to take action against local authorities, or any other employer, found to be ignoring legal requirements to pay the statutory minimum wage. The responsibility lies with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on behalf of Department of Trade and Industry. HMRC is responsible for enforcing the National Minimum wage. In cases of an employer’s refusal or wilful neglect to pay National Minimum Wage, HMRC may serve an enforcement notice.

Ministerial Correspondence

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22551 by Cathy Jamieson on 2 February 2006, what its opinion was of the detail contained within the dossier sent to the First Minister by Angus Robertson MP.

Cathy Jamieson: I wrote to Angus Robertson MP on 22 February thanking him for his letter of 17 January which included a report. I suggested to him that the author of the report take the information in the report to the police.

NHS Charges

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase prescription and other National Health Service charges.

Lewis Macdonald: We shall today lay before the Parliament regulations (SI No. 2006/149) to increase prescription and other National Health Service charges in Scotland from 1 April 2006. There will be a cash increase in the prescription charge of 15 pence (2.3%) from £6.50 to £6.65 for each appliance or quantity of a drug dispensed.

  The cost of a prescription pre-payment certificate will rise to £34.65 for a four month certificate and £95.30 for an annual certificate. These offer savings for people who need more than five prescribed items in four months or 14 items in one year.

  Prescription charges are expected to raise some £45 million for NHSScotland in 2005-06.

  Charges for elastic stockings and tights, fabric supports and most wigs supplied through the hospital service will be increased similarly. The one exception is the charge applied in respect of the basic (modacrylic) wig, which currently stands at £53.90. This will be reduced to £6.65 from 1 April 2006.

  This year we will be increasing the prescription charge and other NHS charges by 2.3%. As in the previous six years, this is below the current rate of inflation.

  NHS charges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are a matter for those administrations.

Nuclear Power

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what communication it has had with Her Majesty’s Government on the Executive’s position that no new nuclear power stations should be built in Scotland until issues relating to the waste management of such facilities have been resolved.

Allan Wilson: There have been no discussions between the Executive and the UK Government on the subject of new nuclear stations in Scotland. The Scottish Executive is, however, engaged in discussions with DTI on issues raised in the UK Energy Review and DTI are aware of Scottish Executive policy. In this regard, the Scottish Executive is unaware of any proposal to build a new nuclear power station anywhere in Scotland.

Oil Industry

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government about the possibility of securing increased expenditure in Scotland of revenue created by North Sea oil.

Allan Wilson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-23933 on 14 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Opencast Mining

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in whom the ownership of opencast coal is vested; what royalty is paid to its owner by those exploiting it, and how it will ensure the reinvestment of these royalties back into communities affected by opencast mining operations.

Allan Wilson: This is a reserved matter. However, the freehold ownership of virtually all unworked coal is vested throughout the UK in the Coal Authority, a non departmental public body which was established upon privatisation of the British Coal Corporation in 1994. Royalties, or production related rents, payable to the Authority by the operators licensed to extract that coal varies between sites. There is no provision in the relevant legislation which would allow the authority to hypothecate production related rent receipts for investing in mining communities. However, further information can be obtained from the authority at the following address: 200 Lichfield lane, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG18, 4RG.

Pensions

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish its rationale for not endorsing the legal advice obtained by COSLA in respect of the Rule of 85 in the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Mr Tom McCabe: Discussions with Trade Unions on the plan to remove the rule of 85 from the Local Government Pension scheme are continuing and the Executive is considering options for a solution to this issue in Scotland. The draft Regulations proposed to implement the changes will be published for consultation once discussions have concluded. However, the recent action initiated by UNISON to seek a Judicial Review of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s decision to remove the rule of 85 in England and Wales is likely to delay matters. Against this background it would therefore be inappropriate to publish the rationale at this time.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many breaches of discipline by prisoners there have been in each prison in each year since 1999, broken down by category of breach of discipline, and expressed as a percentage of the total population in each prison.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The available information on breaches of discipline by prison establishment in financial years 1999-2000 to 2004-05 has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39090).

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many instances of serious injury of prison officers by prisoners there have been at HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont in each year since 1999 and how these figures compare with the incidence of such injuries at other prisons.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information is not available as incidents involving prison officers are not differentiated from those against our other staff. Incidents of serious assaults on all staff are as follows:

  

 Establishment
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 Aberdeen
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Barlinnie
 0
 0
 1
 4
 1
 1


 Cornton Vale
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1


 Castle Huntly
 0
 0
 2
 0
 0
 0


 Dumfries
 2
 1
 1
 0
 0
 0


 Edinburgh
 1
 1
 1
 1
 1
 0


 Glenochil
 3
 3
 1
 2
 3
 0


 Greenock
 0
 0
 0
 1
 0
 1


 Inverness
 1
 0
 0
 0
 1
 0


 Kilmarnock
 4
 1
 2
 6
 1
 1


 Low Moss
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Noranside
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Perth
 0
 1
 1
 1
 0
 0


 Peterhead
 0
 2
 0
 0
 2
 0


 Polmont
 2
 2
 1
 3
 1
 0


 Shotts
 1
 3
 2
 11
 1
 0

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many instances of wilful fire raising there have been at each prison in each of the last seven years.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Our information relates to "Arson". I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-23890 on 16 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Private Security Industry

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what costs have been incurred in 2005-06 in the implementation of the regulation of the private security industry.

Cathy Jamieson: The project to implement regulation in Scotland has completed its planning and initiation stage. The total cost of this initial work is £500,000 for the year 2005-06 and, under common law powers, we intend to make a payment to the Security Industry Authority for this sum from current year funding.

Rail Network

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to expand park-and-ride facilities at railway stations.

Tavish Scott: In addition to our funding of local authorities and others for specific projects to increase car parking facilities, we have secured additional car park enhancements through the ScotRail Franchise.

  We are also in discussions with First ScotRail and Network Rail to unlock additional investment and to provide a programme of car parking enhancement.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21578 by Cathy Jamieson on 22 December 2005, what it considers its obligations are under the UN Convention Against Torture in respect of the allegations that US agencies have used Scottish airports as refuelling stops for flights engaged in the process of "extraordinary rendition" other than those following from the fact that "torture is a crime under Scots law as required by our international obligations" and that "the investigation of alleged crimes is a matter for the police".

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21873 by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2006, whether it considers that it would be a sensible course of action to discuss with Her Majesty’s Government the matter of CIA flights landing in Scotland, given ongoing speculation that the CIA has used Scottish airports as refuelling stops in flights engaged in the process of "extraordinary rendition".

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has discussed with Her Majesty’s Government the briefing paper sent by the Foreign Office to the Prime Minister’s Office stating that people captured by British forces could have been sent illegally to interrogation centres, as reported in The Guardian on 21 January 2006, to establish whether there are any links between these reports and the allegations that US agencies have used Scottish airports as refuelling stops for flights engaged in the process of "extraordinary rendition".

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has not approved and will not approve a policy of facilitating the transfer of individuals through Scottish territory or airspace to places where there are substantial grounds to believe they would face a real risk of torture. The Scottish Executive is not aware of any credible and reliable information to support allegations that Scottish airports are being used for such transfers.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22707 by Cathy Jamieson on 2 February 2006, why it does not intend taking a position on the opinions expressed by Lord Steyn.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has not approved and will not approve a policy of facilitating the transfer of individuals through Scottish territory or airspace to places where there are substantial grounds to believe they would face a real risk of torture. The Scottish Executive is not aware of any credible and reliable information to support allegations that Scottish airports are being used for such transfers. As stated in the answer to question S2W-22707 on 2 February 2006, ministers have consistently made clear that if anyone has credible and reliable information regarding criminal activity it should be passed to the police.

Renewable Energy

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give local authorities guidance on the permitted development status of domestic micro-renewable installation.

Johann Lamont: The Executive will shortly publish a Planning Advice Note on micro-renewables which will provide advice on existing planning controls. A review of permitted development rights is also underway which, among other things, will consider permitted development rights for micro-renewables.

Scottish Executive Finance

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how far it has met its commitments as set out in Closing the Opportunity Gap: Scottish Budget 2003-06 .

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive last published its progress against the 2002 Spending Review targets, including the sub-set contained within Closing the Opportunity Gap: Scottish Budget 2003-06 , in the Annual Evaluation Report (AER) 2005-06, which was published in March 2004. Since then a formal agreement has been reached with the Finance Committee (June 2005) that an AER would not be published in 2005 or 2006.

  We intend to publish a further progress report on these targets in autumn 2006, following the conclusion of the 2002 Spending Review period (end March 2006), allowing the Executive time to collate and evaluate the information relating to those targets whose timeframes conclude in March 2006.

Tartan Day

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much its budget is for Tartan Day celebrations in the United States of America in 2006, broken down by agency and department.

Mr Tom McCabe: The budget for Tartan Week in 2006 is £660,000. This is made up of £560,000 in support for events around Tartan Week in Chicago, New York and Washington DC and £100,000 on marketing. This expenditure is allocated from the Finance and Central Services Department budget.

Transport

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assist in the delivery of a new train station in Castlecary with park and ride facilities, referred to in Building Better Transport in March 2003 as being part of a package to be taken forward by the Executive arising from recommendations made by the Central Scotland Transport Corridor Studies.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive awarded Falkirk Council £450,000 from the Public Transport Fund to undertake a feasibility study to improve rail services along the A80-M80 corridor, including opening a station and park and ride site at Castlecary (now called Allandale). The study concluded in February 2006 and Transport Scotland is assessing the findings of the report.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliamentary Building

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many snagging issues are still outstanding, broken down by priority criteria.

George Reid: The Defects Liability Period ended on 17   February 2006. This was preceded by a series of final defects inspections. Prior to this, there were 73 outstanding snagging items from the original list, the majority of which relate to mechanical and electrical services. One hundred and twelve snagging items have been completed over recent months and are awaiting sign off by the Design Team.

  As a result of the final inspections, around 890 items (including defects and outstanding snags) have been issued to Trade Contractors for rectification. This increase in defect numbers is normal in construction projects at the end of Defects Liability Period. We are working with Trade Package Contractors to agree the final programme for completion.

  Where appropriate, snags are prioritised but they are categorised by Trade Package Contractor not by priority criteria.